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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Icon of Phobos - "Icon of Phobos" (2011) [Baneful Genesis Records]

Los Angeles is no stranger to a good metal scene – partly
due to the fact that most of the great tours in the US tend to stop by, and
also that there are just some damn good bands there as well. Conversely, there
are also a lot of run of the mill, or just plain, shitty bands (I think some of the worst locals I have ever heard were in LA). Having to wait
through local openers at an LA show can really, really vary, in just about any
genre, for that matter. Los Angeles is, without a doubt, saturated with generic
black metal as well, but there are bands who manage to break through this, both
with their releases, and with their live performances.

So, say hello to Icon of Phobos, who released their self
titled album in mid November of last year. The band features a variety of
musicians who have been invested in the scene for quite some time, including
some bands who have had some great releases - Pendulous (previously Dona Eis Requiem),
Spiculum Iratus, and Bestial
Incarnation.

Following some hellish gurgle sounding as if from the maw of
satan, the opening track breaks into a
mid paced black metal assault, accompanied by thunderous drums, and some damn
excellent vocals as well – very reminiscent of Funeral Mist, both in terms of
Arioch’s style, and as well as the music as a whole.

Production wise, the music has a good balance, not going for
anything too raw, yet not for anything overly polished, and a good mix of all pieces
of the music are present in the album.

While Icon of Phobos doesn’t really bring anything new to
the table, they play an orthodox style of black metal that is good in doses,
and if you can find a live video of them, great in a live setting. If I were to
listen to this album without any knowledge of the band, I wouldn’t be surprised
at all if they were from Sweden or Finland – in fact, I’d be more surprised at
learning that not only are they from here in the US, but from Los Angeles.

If you want a dose of orthodox black metal, check this out,
and if you find yourself in sunny southern California, make sure to see if they’re
playing live for one hell of a crushing performance.